Van Sheets on why he wrote Rector Transitions:
Early in our church’s search for a new rector, our team heard, “Rector transitions are scary and hard; you must be afraid.” Well yeah, we felt risks and real responsibility on our shoulders, but we mainly felt hope and high expectations. We trusted God would guide us and that our transition was an opportunity for our wonderful church to grow and deepen our ministries.
We read what we could find, and contacted clergy and lay leaders around the U.S. for insights. We sought churches and dioceses with records of successful transitions. We believed in a strong partnership between the rector and lay leadership, but 99% of written advice we found was from clergy, so we especially sought lay perspectives.
Our journey began in 2015, we called our new rector in 2016, and within a year the transition felt successful. Former Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold suggested I should write a book to share the lessons of our experience. He probably knew it would be more work than I expected, but I enjoyed continuing the research our committee had begun, and the challenge of distilling the first draft to half its original length.
Looking back from 2026, our church’s transition has proven to be a big success. We are thriving in every way, glorifying God and impacting thousands of people weekly.
A decade has passed since the breakfast meeting where I was asked to co-lead our church’s transition, so I considered updating Rector Transitions, but it is substantively still up-to-date because I tried to make it:
Spiritually grounded – THE most critical factor
Comprehensive – covering all three stages of a successful transition (ending of the old time, in-between period, and integration of the new rector), and distilling advice from over 100 sources (over 80 listed in the bibliography)
Focused on successful lay leadership
Adaptable to the circumstances of thousands of unique churches
Practical – with 22 Tools at the back of the book and that can be downloaded to aid your thoroughness and save you administrative time
Concise